Monday, December 17, 2018

The Cookeville Higher Education Campus (CHEC) and Vol State at Livingston have been participating in Christmas parades. CHEC entered a float in the Cookeville parade that students worked to decorate.They had great participation. Vol State at Livingston had the Vol State Campus Police car in the Overton, Clay, Pickett and Jackson Parades.

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

The national publication, Community College Daily, picked-up a story we did about the Logistics and Supply Chain Management program.

A Vol State grad is highlighted in a CNBC story free tuition
programs in the United States.

WPLN, NPR Radio in Nashville, did an update recently with the Bare family, four people all enrolling at Vol State using TN Reconnect
this fall. The follow-up is not surprising, two are continuing classes in the spring and two are not. We will continue the important work to help folks who are struggling with the demands of family life and college.Our Outstanding Fall graduate was Cesar Espinosa from Cookeville, he received this write-up in the Herald-Citizen.

Monday, December 3, 2018

I read
today a short article in the Campbell University Magazine. Campbell is a small, faith-based, liberal
arts institution in North Carolina.
Their student body is majority traditional aged. The article was reminding the University that
their newest class was the first to have never lived in the 20th
century. This poses some challenge to
those of us who lived the majority of our life in the 20th century.

That
realization reminded me of the Beloit College Mindset List created by Ron Nief, Public Affairs Director Emeritus, Tom McBride,
Professor of English and Keefer Professor of Humanities, and Charles
Westerberg, Brannon-Ballard Professor of Sociology.

The list
explores the culture of the 18 year old incoming class and is a window into the
experiences that shaped them. I’ve often shared from the list and find it
interesting and challenging.

Here are a
few excerpts from the list:

-Among the
iconic figures never alive in their lifetime are Victor Borge, Charles Schulz
and the original Obi-Wan Kenobi, Alec Guinness.

-Outer
space has never been without human habitation.

-They have
always been able to refer to Wikipedia.

-They have
grown up afraid that a shooting could happen at their school, too.

-They've
grown up with stories about where their grandparents were on 11/22/63 and where
their parents were on Sept. 11.

-The Prius
has always been on the road in the U.S.

-They never
used a spit bowl in a dentist’s office.

-A visit to
a bank is a rare event.

-None
having served there, American presidents have always visited Vietnam as
commander in chief.

-Donny and
Marie who?

-Films have
always been distributed on the Internet.

So given
that this generation of students has an entirely different frame of reference
and a vastly different cultural experience is it time to change the “what” and
“how” we teach?Is it time change the
“when” and “why” of our processes at the college?

I’ll be
thinking about that as I recoil back to the safety of the 20th
century.

Vol State Discussion Board

The Vol State Gallatin Campus

The Vol State Insider is produced by the Office of Public Relations. It's a newsletter blog designed primarily for faculty and staff, although everyone is welcome to view and comment. You can contact us at pr@volstate.edu